Placido Domingo appeared on stage during the first week of August at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The audience applauded Verdi’s notes in La traviata and Il trovatore, yet many did not realize that at that very moment the Argentine Federal Police were placing the veteran tenor at the center of a major investigation. The case involved outreach research tied to a cult operating under the guise of yoga instruction, connected to human trafficking and the provision of sexual services.
The name of the tenor surfaced in several phone calls seized during the inquiry into the activities of the Buenos Aires Yoga School, a movement led by the figure known as Juan Percowicz, who has been in custody along with twenty-three others suspected by security forces.
One audio recording, date unknown, claims a meeting between Domingo and a sect member and a woman referred to by the nickname Mendy. In another recording a voice that resembles the singer is heard saying: We leave when we go to dinner. In another document leaked to the press, Mendy appears as an addressee whose identity remains unidentified. Placido says he could visit us, that is, he would come to visit me, recalling a recent trip to New York and a memory from the previous day. He adds that he will have to make a personal sacrifice, stressing his commitment to a noble professional mission. A conversation between Mendy and the accountant Percowicz notes that she already called and used deceit to arrange a stay at a hotel before authorities arrive. Percowicz replies with skepticism, and there are hints of collaboration with this person and the organization as a whole.
The Buenos Aires Yoga School has been a focal point of this crime investigation for three decades and has faced legal scrutiny for many years. Judge Ariel Lijo reopened the case and ordered wiretaps. The tenor has faced accusations of sexual harassment and became a subject of a formal magistrate inquiry in the United States as well.
Domingo’s reputation in the United States was affected when his image was pulled from the stage at the Los Angeles Opera amid the growing disclosures and pressure related to the case.
scope of the denomination
Domingo’s alleged involvement in the Buenos Aires Yoga School scandal points to a criminal network that used the promise of spiritual growth to recruit and subjugate many individuals. It elevated the singer from a position of public acclaim to a sphere of intense scrutiny and suspicion.
The sect led by Percowicz left a stark imprint on Argentine society. The operation attracted sponsorship from major companies and banks, yet its mode of operation revealed a system built on the exploitation of people and the use of real estate assets to accumulate wealth. Police investigations reportedly recovered more than a million dollars in one of the seized records, illustrating the scale of the financial operations tied to the group. Attributions and allegations remain under legal review, with authorities continuing to examine the evidence and corroborating testimonies. [citation: Argentine judicial authorities]